The roster cutdown deadline has come and gone, and the league is now down to 53-man rosters. From here, teams will sort through practice squads and make the occasional active-roster tweak if they change their minds.
Most clubs stick close to the usual shape at each position. You’ll often see teams carrying five or six wide receivers, or four inside linebackers. There isn’t a hard rule for every spot, but the general roster math usually tells a story.
Right now, four teams are telling a pretty clear one at quarterback: the Philadelphia Eagles, Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings, and Pittsburgh Steelers are each carrying four passers on their active rosters.
The four-team list looks like this:
- Eagles: Jalen Hurts, Tanner McKee, Andy Dalton, Cole Payton
- Falcons: Tua Tagovailoa, Michael Penix Jr., Cooper Rush, Jack Strand
- Steelers: Aaron Rodgers, Mason Rudolph, Will Howard, Drew Allar
- Vikings: Kyler…
And the common thread isn’t hard to spot. Each of those teams is dealing with a major long-term question under center.
For Philadelphia, Jalen Hurts is the headliner, but the source of concern is clear: he’s described here as a limited passer who has never reached 25 touchdown passes or 4,000 yards in a season. With AJ Brown gone, the concern is that his passing flaws could be on full display this year.
Atlanta’s situation looks even shakier. Tua Tagovailoa is coming off what’s described as a rough offseason, while Michael Penix Jr. is “barely healthy enough to play” and hasn’t stood out since entering the league in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Minnesota is being framed as a team that missed on JJ McCarthy and is now hoping Kyler Murray can steady things. The problem, according to the source, is that Murray was cut by the Arizona Cardinals this offseason for a reason.
Pittsburgh at least has a familiar veteran in Aaron Rodgers for one more year, but the rest of the room doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. Will Howard and Drew Allar are not viewed as sure long-term answers, and Mason Rudolph is labeled an average backup.
There is a little upside in the group if you want to squint at it. Murray, for example, does have a strong set of playmakers around him, maybe the best he’s had in his career.
But even that only pushes the uncertainty down the road. Beyond 2026, the future at quarterback is still wide open.
That’s the bigger lesson these four rosters are offering: having extra quarterbacks is not the same thing as having a solution. For these teams, the room is crowded, but the answer at the most important position in sports still isn’t clear.
In Other News...
Tua Just Added More Heat To Atlantas Unsettled QB Battle
Tua Tagovailoas arrival in Atlanta only sharpened a quarterback situation that was already unsettled, giving the Falcons another experienced option after his release from Miami and one-year deal with the team. What had looked like a simple preseason evaluation turned into something more complicated once his play came in unevenly, forcing Atlanta to keep four quarterbacks around and head toward Week 1 without a clear answer at the most important spot on the roster.
Michael Penix Jr. still appears to be the frontrunner to open the season as the starter, but the Falcons are also keeping a close eye on his health as they sort through the rest of the depth chart. For Tua, the path back into the center of the conversation is tied to how that situation develops, which leaves Atlanta with a familiar kind of late-summer tension: a quarterback room with talent, but no final resolution just yet. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Quarterback Decision Comes With A Game-Day Roster Cost
Several teams came out of cutdown day carrying more quarterbacks than usual, a sign of how much the position can still shape a roster even after the 53-man deadline. The Falcons are in that group, joining teams like the Vikings, Steelers, Eagles and Browns in keeping four or more passers around, a choice that can reflect both caution and optimism when a young arm is still being developed.
For Atlanta, the bigger issue is not just who is in the quarterback room, but what that decision costs elsewhere on game day. Carrying extra depth at the sports most important position can squeeze the rest of the roster, and it leaves the Falcons balancing immediate flexibility against the need to keep enough help available at other spots. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Week 1 QB Call May Come Down To One Concern
The Falcons still have a Week 1 quarterback decision hanging in the balance, with Kevin Stefanski continuing to weigh Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa as camp moves on. ESPN insider Adam Schefter reported that the staff wants to see how Penix holds up physically in full practice before making the call, which puts the focus squarely on his readiness as much as his performance.
Penixs health has become the central issue in the competition, and there is at least some belief that he could be the starter if he proves fully healthy. For Atlanta, it is a decision that goes beyond Septembers opener, because the next step depends on whether Penix can handle the demands of practice without any setbacks. [Read more 🡒]